New Field Guide for Africa's Mammalian Eden

“Field Guide to Larger Mammals of Tanzania” contains 135 species, checklist for every national park

Four WCS Conservationists co-authored new guide along with experts from Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute and Zoological Society of London

Newswise — NEW YORK (June 10, 2014) – From the kipunji – a secretive primate species first discovered by WCS in 2003 to the Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin, Tanzania is known for its staggering variety of large mammals including the largest diversity of primates in mainland Africa.

A new field guide authored by conservationists from the Wildlife Conservation Society, Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute, and the Zoological Society of London documents this dazzling array of mammals. Called “A Field Guide to Larger Mammals of Tanzania” the new guide chronicles all the larger mammals of Tanzania, including marine mammals and newly discovered species.

Authors include Charles Foley, assistant country director for the Wildlife Conservation Society in Tanzania; Lara Foley, program manager of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Tarangire Elephant Project; Alex Lobora, senior research officer at the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute; Daniela De Luca, senior scientist for the Wildlife Conservation Society's conservation programs in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania and Zanzibar, Maurus Msuha, head of wildlife information and education at the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute; Tim Davenport is country director for the Wildlife Conservation Society in Tanzania; and Sarah Durant, senior research fellow at the Zoological Society of London's Institute of Zoology.

Tanzania is Home to the Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, and Mount Kilimanjaro and offers some of the finest big game watching in the world, from elephants and rhinos to chimpanzees and lions.

Said co-author Tim Davenport: “As well as compiling all historical information, this new guide book is the culmination of our collective 100 years in the bush in Tanzania. We hope it will be of value to safari-goers, natural historians and conservationists alike.”

WCS Executive Director for Africa Programs James Deutsch called the book: “The much awaited, much needed, definitive field guide to the mammals of the most important country in the world for seeing and conserving wildlife.”

Detailed accounts are provided for more than 135 species, along with color photos, color illustrations of marine mammals, and distribution maps. Accounts for land species give information on identification, subspecies, similar species, ecology, behavior, distribution, conservation status, and where best to see each species.

In addition, the guide features plates with side-by-side photographic comparisons of species that are easily confused, as well as first-time-ever species checklists for every national park.

Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)MISSION: WCS saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. VISION: WCS envisions a world where wildlife thrives in healthy lands and seas, valued by societies that embrace and benefit from the diversity and integrity of life on earth. To achieve our mission, WCS, based at the Bronx Zoo, harnesses the power of its Global Conservation Program in more than 60 nations and in all the world’s oceans and its five wildlife parks in New York City, visited by 4 million people annually. WCS combines its expertise in the field, zoos, and aquarium to achieve its conservation mission. Visit: www.wcs.org; http://www.facebook.com/TheWCS; http://www.youtube.com/user/WCSMedia Follow: @thewcs.